Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian : More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the Globe
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (02 November, 1999)
list price: $40.00
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Editorial Review

The author of seven previous cookbooks, including the classic Indian Cooking, Madhur Jaffrey is among today's most influential and authoritative food writers. Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian, a meticulously researched collection of more than 750 meatless dishes from around the globe, presents its author in superlative form, culling the best vegetarian home-style dishes from virtually every culture and cooking tradition. Jaffrey's book, filled with delicious, approachable recipes, has universal appeal, and should be part of every cook's library.

Divided into sections on beans, grains, and vegetables, and including chapters on vegetables, soups, salads, and sauces, among other topics, the book brilliantly juxtaposes recipes grouped by ingredient to reveal, finally, the way that ingredient is approached globally to make food. Thus, for example, Jaffrey's section on rice offers Persian Pilaf with Lima Beans, Palestinian Rice with Lentils and Browned Onions, and Risotto with Fried Porcini Mushrooms, among other pitch-perfect dish choices in this and other chapters. Less familiar ingredients like spelt, millet, and soybeans are removed from the realm of dubious interest and presented in compelling recipes, such as Spicy Soybean Patties with Mint. Throughout, Jaffrey provides definitive notes on ingredients (her full investigation of couscous types is one of many examples) and techniques, as well as a truly comprehensive glossary. Jaffrey also offers a small but charming section on drinks; her Fresh Lime and Ginger Syrup from India, to be mixed with ice and soda water, is a simple but marvelous summertime treat, and one more example of Jaffrey at excitingly full throttle. A ten-page section of color photos rounds out this expert collection. --Arthur Boehm ... Read more

Reviews (35)

The start of a beautiful friendship
I have acquired a reputation because of this book. I cook for potlucks at church, my wife and I take leftovers to work the next day, and all over people rave about how good the food (so often straight from Madhur's recipes) smells and tastes.
But who cares what other people think, I just love the food.
Now, I learned to cook from this book as a new husband in charge of meals with a vegetarian wife. It's been about a year, probably close to 100 various recipes cooked (many repeated repeatedly), and I'm still excited to try new ones (Doubles is on the menu tonight) and I love going back again and again to find out what to do with asparagus when I find it on sale.
I cook straight from her directions and most often things have come out tasty and memorable and begging to be cooked again. In the beginning I stuck with things that looked pretty easy to me, like stews--I do have the luxury of having lots of time to soak and boil beans, which everyone talks about. Often time-consuming, sure, but I haven't found that the required culinary skills have taxed my limited experience and (limited) common sense. If you want to cook this food and are willing to put in the time and effort, you won't be disappointed.
Like I said, I just get the right ingredients (unfortunately fresh curry leaves seem to be one item I can rarely find, but tamarind, dried whole red chilies, mirin, etc. have all turned up on enjoyable visits to local ethnic food stores), leave myself time for prep and follow her instructions, and I get treated like a star. Hey, it's just a good recipe.
No, not everything has been earth-shattering. But I'm not sure of the heights plain bulgur and lentils could achieve, either. And some are forgettable, or worse. (But I don't think it was Madhur's fault that her adzuki/mung yin-yang bean dish left me and my wife in pain.) But for any of her recipes for (off the top of my head) charros, red lentils with zucchini, chickpea stew with six vegetables, spicy corn salad, bean curd salad/spread, spicy hash brown potatoes, kohlrabi salad, green pepper and cucumber salad ... you won't even remember the misfires.
I admit most people approaching this book won't take it as a first textbook on cooking, but sometimes I had to resort to other books to figure out a technique she was talking about, or I wish there was a little more concrete direction. (Again, maybe my lack of confidence, but I do like to have things spelled out to the letter. But I know no one else in the world cooks like that.)
I also tend to cut down on the salt and oil she recommends. Especially salt! And often adding time for things she sautes, reducing time for boiling--must be something about my stove.
I find the blurbs next to the recipes often sell me on cooking something I wouldn't try otherwise. (These are entertaining in themselves and make for good bed-time reading, though often I have to put it down to keep from salivating too much.) I have quite a list in my head of things I still want to try making, and that doesn't even get into the recipes I feel I'm not adequate to tackle yet.
I didn't know anything about Madhur Jaffrey before I got this book, so my feelings are entirely based on the exquisite smells and tastes I've experienced because of her recipes. I am very thankful to her.

The cookbook we use more than any other
This is an absolutely wonderful cookbook. Every recipe we have made from it has been successful. Jaffrey's instructions are clear yet concise. We particularly enjoy the Indian and Asian dishes, but she includes recipes from all over the world.

I personally like the way the book is grouped by each vegetable, bean, or grain. This is very useful for seasonal produce. This also makes sense for vegetarian eaters because often whether a dish is an appetizer, side dish, or main course is not clearly defined (for meat eaters, it seems more obvious - main course is usually the meat).

We are not vegetarians, but have found that this book has far better recipes for vegetables than your average all purpose cookbook. So I would encourage omnivores to get this book and your love of vegetables will grow! Meat eaters may want to pick up one of Jaffrey's other cookbooks to round out their meal --- such as "Quick and Easy Indian Cooking."

We have lent this book to a number of friends with different levels of cooking expertise and everyone has loved it!

I see that this book won the James Beard Award - an honor it most surely deserves.

A Very Important Book for Learning about Food. Buy It!
`World Vegetarian' by leading authority on Indian cooking, Madhur Jaffrey is one of those books you can tell after reading a page or two that it is worth your time and money if you are interested in learning new things about food.

It is important to note that the notion of `vegetarian' in the title does not mean that the book is all about vegetables, just as a vegetarian is not a person who eats only vegetables. A vegan or vegetarian is someone who avoids meat and, to some extent, products derived from animals. Some people whose vegetarianism is based on respect for animal life go so far as to avoid vegetables like root vegetables whose harvest may entail the death of insects or worms or other subterranean living animals. Ms. Jaffrey is a partial vegetarian, based more on Indian culture and tradition than anything else. And, her book includes major chapters on dairy products derived from milk and eggs.

This is a very big book, with very long chapters on all the big vegetarian topics. These are:

Dried Beans, Dried Peas, Lentils, and Nuts -122 pages
Vegetables - 200 pages
Grains - 186 pages
Dairy - 64 pages
Soups, Salads, and Drinks - 82 pages
Sauces and Added Flavorings - 54 pages
plus
Equipment, Glossary, and Resources - 32 pages

Even with 200 pages and 200 recipes, this very large section does not match the depth of books dedicated entirely to vegetables such as Jack Bishop's `Vegetables Every Day' or Elizabeth Schneider's encyclopedic `Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini'. In fact, Ms. Jaffrey has just 31 sections dedicated to different vegetables, while Ms. Schneider covers over 130 different named vegetables, but Ms. Jaffrey gives us some insights on vegetable cookery which I believe cannot be found elsewhere. It may not be that other books don't cover the same thing, but Ms. Jaffrey seems to have a way of putting things which makes them stick in your memory a lot more firmly than other writers' coverage does. For example, in dealing with the baking of red beet roots, Ms. Jaffrey says that baking white potatoes in tin foil leads to thoroughly unpleasant soggy skins and dry flesh, but the same technique is exactly what you want to do with beets, as the skin of beets in inedible.

Another way in which her facts are presented in an effective manner is when the section on greens discusses fourteen (14) different varieties of greens together so that similarities and differences between methods appropriate to each variety can be discussed.

Ms. Jaffrey is certainly true to her book title in that her recipes come from all over the world. She gives us the service of stating beside each recipe name the country or cuisine from which the recipe grew. While this may only be important to nitpickers like myself, she is careful to point out when recipes are from a purely Italian or Chinese source or from a hybrid recipe developed by Italians or Chinese who are transplanted to the United States.

The chapter on `Grains' is dedicated as much or more to dishes made with flour grains and meals, as in noodles and porridges as to the grains themselves, as in rice dishes. One of the clearest signs of Ms. Jaffrey's background is the fact that very little space is dedicated to yeast breads. Only five (5) recipes contain yeast and two of those are for pancakes. All other bread recipes are for flatbreads or breads with a chemical leavener. These recipes are welcome, as few appear in conventional books on bread, and I do not miss a fuller discussion of breads, as there are easily a dozen excellent books on bread which come to mind.

The other side of the coin is in the dairy chapter that includes recipes for homemade cheeses which I simply have not seen anywhere outside of Diane Kennedy's most recent book on the Mexican pantry. Among these recipes are homemade Indian cheese, unflavored and flavored with pepper or herbs; Latin American cheese (`Queso Blanco'), Italian mascarpone cheese and Syrian Cheese. And, just to be sure none of this effort is wasted, there are several recipes giving us things to do with our homemade Indian cheese.This chapter also contains a wealth of egg recipes that you will simply not see anywhere outside of a book dedicated to egg recipes or a large book on Indian cuisine. With a rather long headnoted homage to Julia Child, Ms. Jaffrey gives us an excellent recipe for the classic French omelet. You will succeed with this recipe, but mastering the technique may require a consult with Ms. Child's book or Jacques Pepin's book on technique.

All this means is that Ms. Jaffrey's decisions on what to include in this book and what to leave out is impeccable.

It may seem presumptions on my part to evaluate Ms. Jaffrey's recipes, but I did check out her vegetable stock recipe and found it agreed with all my experts' opinions on how and for how long to cook a vegetable stock. The only deviation from classic doctrine is that she includes a diced potato, but not until the broth has been brought to a boil and reduced to a simmer, so, I suspect the spud has no chance to make the stock cloudy.

In a sense, this book fulfills the promise of Jeanne Lemlin's `Vegetarian Classics' without padding it with cliched recipes for macaroni and cheese and pasta Puttanesca. Very, very few recipes in this book are familiar to me, in spite of the fact that I have walked my way through close to 400 cookbooks in the last 18 months.

This book is highly recommended for your armchair library when you are out of the kitchen, searching for new ideas and dishes.
... Read more

Isbn: 0517596326
Subjects:  1. Cookery, International    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. International cooking    5. Regional & Ethnic - International    6. Vegetarian - General    7. Vegetarian cookery    8. Vegetarian cooking    9. Cooking / Vegetarian   

Seductions of Rice : A Cookbook
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 October, 1998)
list price: $35.00 -- our price: $35.00
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Editorial Review

Chinese stir-frys, Spanish paellas, Japanese sushi, Indian thorans, Thai salads, Turkish pilafs, Italian risottos, Senegalese yassas, American gumbos: if rice isn't the heart and soul of all these diverse dishes, rice can be found piled right there at the side of the plate, or in a bowl. To say that Alford and Duguid, authors of the award-winning Flatbreads and Flavors, deliver the world of rice is much too simple an understatement. Your days of buying one rice to serve all purposes will end with even a cursory reading of this lovely book.

The authors are photographers as well as writers, but their greatest skill may be to travel the world at the level of the culture they visit. They seem able to drop away from Western culture and hunker right down with rice vendor or cook, no matter where.

Seductions of Rice opens with all the basics of rice, everything a reader would want to know and then some. Then on to the cultures of rice: Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Central Asian, Mediterranean, Senegalese, and North American. Recipes either made from rice or to accompany rice range from Chinese Congee to Thai Green Papaya Salad to Japanese Quick Morning Miso Soup to South Indian Lentil Stew to Cuban Black Beans to Mexican Green Rice.

And in between? The authors fill in all the space between these diverse grains of rice with traveler's tales from the road. It is a luxurious book, a delicious book, a ripe combination of travel and taste. You leave off thinking that the world must be the shape of a rice ball. --Schuyler Ingle ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Fantastic!
This book is a combination of excellent travel narratives, photo-essays, and recipes.Most delicious are the fried rice recipes and the dipping sauces.Definitely a pleasure to peruse and also to utilize for simple dinner recipes with complex and authentic flavors.Some of the ingredients are difficult to find in typical grocery stores, but may be found in tiny international markets.A must for lovers of Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cuisines.

Amazing book--great read, great recipes
Obviously, don't buy this book if you don't like rice or starch. But that being a given, this is a wonderful book to read and to cook from. I bought a paperback in a store for about twice this price, so this is a great value and would make a fabulous gift. One of the previous reviewers who noted that nowheres near all of the recipes in this book actually _include_ rice was correct--they don't. But the authors talk in their introduction about how their book is meant to be a cookbook for those who eat rice at every meal--how you go home, start cooking rice, and then decide what to eat with it. That said, there are many recipes here that make fast, tasty meals when combined with rice. Must-try recipes include Thai sweet rice cakes and Chinese-style summer stir-fry (to eat with rice).

My favourite cookbook
My family and I adore this book -- the information, the travel narratives, the photos, and of course the recipes. We were already eating a rice-based diet. This book has made our diet ever more varied and interesting. ... Read more

Isbn: 1579651135
Subjects:  1. Cookery (Rice)    2. Cookery, International    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Specific Ingredients - Rice & Grains    6. Cooking / Rice & Grains   

Food Markets of the World
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 October, 1997)
list price: $35.00
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Editorial Review

Food Markets of the World is a deliciously literate, enticingly informative tour of 60 markets ranging from the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, to Rosari, a village market in eastern Java. The book stimulates all your senses, just like the great markets Mimi Sheraton presents. She takes you beyond the sight of heaped produce andfresh fish to describe the smells and sounds and sharehistorical and cultural reflections. Nelli Sheffer'sphotographs showthe life of each place, such asa Delhi spice vendor asleep among overflowing sacks of fiery red chilies and heaps of burnished orange turmeric. Recipes and information about specific foods are woven neatly into the text. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

gorgeous coffee-table book with stunning photography
This book is filled with page after page of absolutely gorgeous fascinating photography of folks from all over the world selling all sorts of foods I've never seen before -- an Asian woman selling rambutan (they're red & spikey), a butcher in Palermo standing behind an assortment of animal parts, a spice vendor in Cairo, his fingers covered with turmeric (that one's a two-full-page spread).This book lets you take a worldwide (every corner of the world) vacation, strolling down the alleys of markets, almost able to smell the spices in Beijing and the freshly baked bread in Paris.The photographs are supplemented by very readable text -- historical information on regional foods, "recipes" that will inspire you to experiment rather than provide you with a step by step, measure by measure formula.Beautiful gift for a food lover or a world traveler (or world traveler wannabe).

Food markets around the world
This book is wonderful. I have had a fascination with food markets for quite a while and finally there is a book to document their colors and vibrance which reflect that of the societies they serve. The book is divided into six sections: Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East andNorth Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the U.S.A. Information is given onthe types of food common to each area of the world, including recipes(which are written in paragraph rather than cookbook style). I have nottried any of the recipes yet but they look delicious. Most impressive isthe photography, which is fortunate for this is largely a picture book. Itwould make a great coffee table book, as well as a nice gift. I wouldrecommend "Food Markets of the World" highly if you areinterested in food (and who isn't!), cooking, and international cultures.If you are a fan of National Geographic Magazine this is right up youralley. The price seems very reasonable to me considering it is a hardcoverbook with page after page of beautiful color photographs. Get it! ... Read more

Isbn: 0810911841
Subjects:  1. Cookery, International    2. Cooking    3. Farmers' markets    4. Photo Essays    5. Photography    6. Regional & Ethnic - International    7. Bargain   

Real Vegetarian Thai
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 April, 1997)
list price: $13.95 -- our price: $11.16
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Reviews (11)

How much more reassurance do you need? This is exceptional!
To date, all of the reviews here grant four or five stars to this book - and I am no exception. This little red book contains the most delicious selection of vegetarian Thai recipes that I have encountered in my 15 years of cooking vegetarian meals. Not only are the recipes quite easy in preparation, but they also are based on easily available ingredients and are very quick to make. The outcome is almost always exceptional - both in taste and presentation. I can wholeheartedly recommend this book as a valuable addition to anyone's collection of cookbooks. As you can see from the other reviews, I am not alone. So, what are you waiting for? It's rare to find such a unanimously positive opinion about anything.

Delicious recipes, well laid-out book
Vegetarians have long bewailed the difficulty of making Thai food: almost every ready-made Thai curry paste available contains shrimp or worse. Now it is possible to concoct your own! McDermott has created an Eastern cookbook with a Western eye, taking the mystery out of this delicious cuisine. Recipes are categorised along familiar lines, exotic ingredients are explained in a glossary and sources listed, unusual techniques (from opening a coconut to roasting chillis) are fully explained. This cookbook is very helpful indeed: there's even a bibliography and a list of menu suggestions, you can alter the amount of heat in a dish to taste (I'm a wimp about chillis and am doing fine), and she is not too snobbish to suggest replacements, such as ginger if galanga is unavailable. The lay-out is clear and easy to follow, and there are several interesting anecdotes about McDermott's travels in Thailand and the traditional Thai way of life.

The recipes are imaginative, healthy, straightforward to make, and they work beautifully. Many of them are vegan, and adaptations are usually suggested for those which are not. A "Basic Recipes" section gives recipes for essentials such as the different curry pastes, roasted chilli paste, vegetable stock, and "mushroom mince" (which she has invented to replace minced meat in traditional recipes).

Some examples of recipes included are:

Crispy spring rolls with sweet and hot garlic sauce
Green papaya salad
Jasmine rice soup with mushrooms, green onions and crispy garlic
Red curry with eggplant and sweet peppers
Butternut squash in fresh green curry
Firecracker broccoli
Coconut ice cream
Thai iced tea

To my surprise, Thai cookery turned out not just to be possible for vegetarians and vegans (an astonishing number of recipes are here, and meat-eaters will certainly not feel deprived), but the ingredients are easy to find, the recipes easy to make, and the results are dazzling.

One of the Most Usefull Cookbooks in My Library
This book has so many great recepies for just about any palate.Sometimes the recepies can look a little daunting and complicated, but it assumes you're using all fresh ingredients, which you don't always have to.After all, cumin powder is in my opinion just as good as fresh cumin seeds.Or more available anyway.Basically, once you take the time to create a few of the "staple" ingredients in this book (red and green curry paste are essential), you can make just about anything in here quickly and cheaply.And it's GOOD!I'm never going to forget the look on my friends' faces when I came out with an eggplant curry that I'd made from this book.Everyone was amazed.So if you want to do something different, and you're a bit creative, this book is for you. ... Read more

Isbn: 0811811514
Sales Rank: 42284
Subjects:  1. Cookery, Thai    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Regional & Ethnic - Asian    5. Regional & Ethnic - Thai    6. Vegetarian cookery   

Becoming Vegetarian: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Vegetarian Diet
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 August, 1995)
list price: $16.95
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Reviews (24)

THE vegetarian book to have!!!
This is an excellent book.I decided to become vegetarian a few years ago both for health and ethical reasons and this one one of the first books I bought - its remained the one I turn to over and over again - especially when friends or relatives questions how healthy a vegetarian diet is and I need to educate them.Some of the most fascinating parts of this book talk about the history of the current meat-based diet and how the government pushed it and helped market meats of all sorts to get people to buy more (to help farmers out).Also though there is great info on how much protien a person actually needs and where you can get it from - its actually pretty easy to get all the protien you need over the course of a day.Since becoming vegetarian (really almost vegan except for the eggs I get from a lady down the street who really takes wonderful care of her chickens) I've never felt better.My husband has even voluntarily made the switch as well (spurred on by a few episodes of food poisoning at the local sandwich shop).Vegetarian is the way to go and this book will give you ALL the info you need to get rolling and keep others quiet when they criticize.Bon sante and Bon appetit!

Best nutritional based book!
I thought this book was very thorough, yet easy to follow. Every recipe I've made has been very delicious. I was a vegetarian for 6 years before I became pregnant and began to eat meat for fear I wouldn't get enough protein my babe needed. I wish I had this book then, as the authors lay out precisely what you need for nourishment. My son and I now have a great reference so we can be healthy lacto-ovo vegetarians, and possibly convert my husband as well!

Great intro book
Easy to read and a good book to use as a jump-off point for more specific readings catering to your individual vegetarian interests. ... Read more

Isbn: 1570670137
Sales Rank: 208009
Subjects:  1. Cooking / Wine    2. Diet/Nutrition    3. Diets - General    4. Health & Fitness    5. Health & Healing - General    6. Healthy Living    7. Nutrition    8. Vegetarian - General    9. Vegetarianism   

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible: Discover Ed's High-Yield W-O-R-D System for All North American Gardening Regions
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (15 February, 2000)
list price: $24.95 -- our price: $16.47
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Editorial Review

Wouldn't it be lovely to have a patch of corn, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and beans just steps from your kitchen door? Would you like to learn how to control your zucchini plant? Ed Smith, an experienced vegetable gardener from Vermont, has put together this amazingly comprehensive and commonsensical manual, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible. Basically, Ed and his family have been growing a wide variety of vegetables for years and he's figured out what works. This book, filled with step-by-step info and color photos, breaks it all down for you.

Ed's system is based on W-O-R-D: Wide rows, Organic methods, Raised beds, Deep soil. With deep, raised beds, vegetable roots have more room to grow and expand. In traditional narrow-row beds, over half the soil is compacted into walkways while a garden with wide, deep, raised beds, plants get to use most of the soil. In Ed's plan, growing space gets about three-quarters of the garden plot and only about a quarter is used for the walkway. Ed teaches you how to create raised beds both in a larger garden or in separate planked beds. One of the most important--and most often overlooked--aspects of successful vegetable gardening is crop rotation. Leaving a crop in the same place for years can deplete nutrients in that area and makes the crop more likely to be attacked by insects. Rotate at least every two years and your vegetables will be healthier and bug-free. There's also a good section on insect and blight control.

Before choosing what to grow, go through the last third of the book, where Ed takes a look at the individual growing, harvesting, and best varieties of a large number of both common and more exotic vegetables and herbs. Whether you are a putterer or a serious gardener, The Vegetable Gardener's Bible is an excellent resource to have handy. --Dana Van Nest ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Excellent Reference
This book is a reference manual for vegetable gardeners, particularly those gardening in northern climates.The book is organized into 3 main parts: From Seed to Harvest (covering planning, preparing beds, starting seeds, maintaining the garden, and harvesting), The Health Garden (covering soil, compost, and pests), and Vegetables & Herbs, A-Z (alphabetical guide to individual vegetables).The book is amply illustrated with color photographs and illustrations.End material includes zone maps, a list of suppliers, a list for further reading, and an index.

Smith sums up his approach to gardening in the acronym "WORD", which signifies Wide rows, Organic methods, Raised beds, and Deep soil.He's come to this approach after many years of trying many different methods, and found that this method seems to give him the best, most reliable harvest with the least effort.In this book, he explains the parts of the WORD method in detail.For example, he notes that he found rototilling actually to be counterproductive, since it tends to develop a hardpan of packed soil just under the surface.This hardpan limits root growth, which tends to stunt plants.Instead of rototilling, he advocates building deep raised beds, which provide for full root systems and better growth.

The articles in the alphabetical reference section are quite useful.Each includes a brief description of the vegetable, notes on when and where to plant, and notes on harvesting and storing.Instructions are also provided when needed about how to transplant.Each article comes with a quick reference chart that covers sowing (depth, temperature, days to germination, etc.) and growing (temperature, spacing, watering, companions, seed longevity, etc.)Overall, the book is very informative, the text is clear, and the pictures are quite helpful, making the book useful for experienced gardeners as well as beginners.

The best vegetable gardening book I've seen
I stumbled across this book at my local bookstore and even though I ended up paying the full retail price, it was well worth it. I knew nothing about gardening before I read the book but Ed Smith's detailed instructions and nuggets of wisdom gave me the know-how to grow vegetables that exceeded my expectations. I have an urban garden in CA (zone 9a) so I'm limited on space and have high clay content in my soil, but with three 4x6x12 raised beds I can grow fantastic organic vegetables. I've probably read the book cover to cover now several times over, but I still keep finding myself flipping to the back of the book where Ed has 1-2 pages dedicated to each of the most popular vegetables. Within these sections you can find useful information such as watering conditions, when to grow seedlings, seed longevity, most popular cultivars, and many tips for sowing, growing, and harvesting. The last part of the book alone is worth the price of the book.

Wonderful Book!!
Great photos, great explanations and strategy for gardening....and much more! Highly recommended book and one of my favorites! ... Read more

Isbn: 1580172121
Subjects:  1. Gardening    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. Gardening/Plants    4. Organic    5. Organic gardening    6. Vegetable gardening    7. Vegetables    8. Gardening / Vegetables   

Vacu Vin Wine Saver Gift Pack, White
Average Customer Review:
Kitchen
list price: $14.99 -- our price: $12.99
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Editorial Review

Wine should breathe a little, but not overnight. Putting an end to the oxidation process, which turns a favorite Merlot into vinegar, is easy with the Vacu Vin Wine Saver. Made from high-quality rubber, which will not affect the taste of the wine, the Wine Saver uses a vacuum-style pump to release air to keep a wine fresh. And it's easy to use--just place a stopper in a bottle's neck, place the pump over the stopper, and pump air out until some resistance is felt. This process is suitable for preserving all but sparkling wines, and will save Chiantis, Syrahs, and others for up to two weeks. --Madeleine Miller ... Read more

Features

• Reusable vacuum wine storage set ideal for all wine lovers
• Keeps open wine fresh for two weeks
• Correct usage puts an end to the oxidation process
• Includes 1 sturdy plastic pump and 2 high-quality rubber stoppers
• Hand washable; one-year warranty

Reviews (99)

Great concept - but low quality - will jam permanently
I wish another company would make the same product with better quality. Although the concept is spot on, there's a problem with the rubber o-ring inside the pump - it will slide out of place and jam up the pump so that it becomes unusable. My first one lasted about 9 months before that happened, so I was willing to try again. The second one, however, lasted less than a month before the o-ring slipped and the pump jammed. There is no way to open it up to fix it. So until they fix this problem, this product is hit or miss. Caveat emptor!

It works!
We use our vacu vin wine saver all of the time since purchasing it about six months ago.It enables us to put partially full bottles back into our wine cooler, which we were unable to do before. We had tried unsuccessfully to do this with other wine corks.

Extend that bottle's life!
I recently bought this, and am happy with it. It "clicks" after 4 or 5 quick pumps for a 3/4 full bottle, and 7-8 clicks for a 1/4 filled bottle, to indicate vacuuum has been established, and the vacuum holds well, as does the wine!

Theprevious model did not click, however it certainly attained vacuum after about the same number of pumps..hearing the clicks is more reassuring!

As I recently bought it, I can't assess its long term durability as others have.

It does extend the wine's good taste for at least a few days in addition to the usual 2-3 days before the wine tastes "funny".

I've no reason to try it for more than a week of"corking up" a previously opened tasty bottle, so for these reasons i've got my money's worth, and it gets 5 stars. ... Read more

Asin: B00004SAF4
Subjects:  1. Wine    2. Bar Tools    3. Barware    4. (Bar Ware)    5. Bartending    6. Wine Products   

Vacu Vin Wine Saver Extra Stoppers, Set of 4
Average Customer Review:
Kitchen
list price: $9.99 -- our price: $9.99
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Editorial Review

Wine should breathe a little, but not overnight. Putting an end to the oxidation process, which turns a favorite Merlot into vinegar, is easy with the Vacu Vin Wine Saver. These long-lasting extra stoppers are designed to work with the vacuum-style pump (sold separately) to keep a wine fresh. Made of high-quality rubber, they won't affect the taste of the wine. And the method is simple--just place a stopper in the opening of a bottle, place the pump over the stopper, and pump air out until you feel some resistance. This process is suitable for preserving all but sparkling wines, and will save Chiantis, Syrahs, and others for up to two weeks. --Madeleine Miller ... Read more

Features

• Hand washable
• Use with the Vacu Vin Wine Saver
• Reusable vacuum wine storage
• Keeps open wine fresh for two weeks
• 4 stoppers

Reviews (4)

Perfect for stopping up wine
These work quite well. With the pump, it's the perfect solution for those of us who only want one glass at a time.
My wines have, for the most part, stayed 'fresh' when using this system.

works well
I've used this system for years, and it certainly extends the life of open wine. I have not left open wine at room temperature so I don't know whether that works. The seals on the stoppers eventually wear out so it helps to have extras. I consider the claim that it will keep wine for up to two weeks to be overly optimistic.

Vac System
I have had this system for at least 2 yrs and it has worked very well for me.I find that it keeps the wine fresher for a longer period as long as it is properly refrigerated.I cannot attest to nonrefrigerated wines using this system as I always refrigerate my wine after opening. ... Read more

Asin: B00005AS51
Subjects:  1. Wine    2. Bar Tools    3. Barware    4. (Bar Ware)    5. Bartending    6. Wine Products   

Vacu Vin Food Saver, Set of 4
Average Customer Review:
Kitchen
list price: $29.99 -- our price: $29.99
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

The Vacu Vin system for food and wine storage is pretty amazing--while some wine lovers debate its merits for saving wine, you just can't argue about having extra-crisp cereal after a month of storage. Specially designed rubber seals are centered in the lid of each storage container--you fit the vacuum into the seal and pump the handle until it becomes too difficult to continue. At this point, all the air has been removed from the container and you can be assured that fresh food is well protected. The wine seals work in a similar manner, except the rubber seal fits directly into the bottle. Results here are mixed--some folks insist that there's no difference between the sealed bottle and one left open, while others insist that the sealed bottle provides a major improvement. Like so much with wine, it may be up to the individual palate--but no harm is ever done by testing. --Jill Lightner ... Read more

Features

• Includes Vacu Vin pump, one wine cork, and three storage containers
• Forms airtight seals for open wine bottles and storage containers
• Ideal containers for storing leftovers or dry foods
• Reusable vacuum wine storage set ideal for all wine lovers
• All pieces dishwasher-safe for easy clean-up

Reviews (24)

White top canisters 3 stars as to the 5 star smoke color
The food saver system is great. Youwill notice there are two different style containerswhite top clear sidethen the other typewhich are see through but are in a smoke colorplastic . The white top one's lid goes down into the container just a little bit to seal which I find a little hard to open not badbut a bit of a pain . The smoked color onesthe lid sits flat on the top extremely easy to open and in my thought by far the better style. You also find the mason jar attachment a great value . Buy the jars by the case and seal flour rice and such in them very inexpencive method of storage(the smallest mason jar is freezer safe but it is real small a cup I think ). The flat/square marinade continer in the smoke coloris a lot more useful than you would first think when used for refrigrator storage . I hardly ever use the bags as compaired to the containers . So I avoid the white top containersbuy a round of the smoke colored ones and mason jars attachments (I think I have used only the larger one (wide mouth jar size )). Instead spending your extra cash on extra bags . If you got to have bagsreal quick remembersears and walmart stock them .

Does not hold seal.
I love the Vacu Vin wine bottle stoppers, so a year ago I purchased the marinator and a set of canisters.Big mistake.I can't get the seal to hold most of the time.This happened after a few uses, so it's not that they're old or anything.Every month or so I give it another try, to no avail.The seal and edges are clean, and I can't figure out what to do.

Easy to use and usually works...
When it works the food savers are great - easy to use and they dont use a lot of space. However, I have had a problem with the cannisters losing their suction for no apparent reason. When they work, they work well. I especially like them for storing coffee. ... Read more

Asin: B00004SAG5
Subjects:  1. Vacuum Sealers    2. Bar Tools    3. Barware    4. (Bar Ware)    5. Bartending    6. Storage    7. Kitchen